Earlier today we explained how HTML5 will change the way you use the web, including how HTML5-supported offline access handles basically the same functionality as Google's Gears browser plug-in. It seems that Google's well aware of this fact, too, and the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Google is "letting the sun set" on Gears:

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"We are excited that much of the technology in Gears, including offline support and geolocation APIs, are being incorporated into the HTML5 spec as an open standard supported across browsers, and see that as the logical next step for developers looking to include these features in their websites," wrote a Google spokesman in an e-mail.

It's good news in the long run, but not all that great of news for many in the short-term, considering Gears isn't available (and won't be) for Snow Leopard, and Chrome for Mac won't support Gears. In a nutshell, that means a lot of people won't be able to fully take advantage of either Gears or HTML5 during the interim. [LATimes]